Door handle assemblies



June 6, 1967 M. J. JAMES DOOR HANDLE ASSEMBLIES Filed May 24, 1965 I7 I 78" 7 v I9 t 76 I 'LNvau-roa M/c/Mn t/D-St'P q dom s A-rfroeuavs United States Patent 3,323,824 DOOR HANDLE ASSEMBLIES Michael Joseph James, Charlton Kings, Cheltenham, England, assignor to Micro and Precision Mouldings (Cheltenham) Limited, Cheltenham, England Filed May 24, 1965, Ser. No. 458,120 9 Claims. (Cl. 292-356) This invention relates to door handle assemblies for fitting to a door and of the type embodying a rotary handle which in use acts both as a door pull and for release of an associated door latch.

Handle assemblies of the foregoing type in general use have a body for mounting on the door and in which the handle is rotatably mounted, during assembly the handle being fitted from the outer side of the body and a retaining plate or the like riveted or otherwise attached, as by a cir-clip, on the shank of the handle to locate the handle relatively to the body. As a result an attached part in use withstands the door pull which often leads to failure of the attachment; in addition, the stops limiting rotation of the handle are formed on or attached to the retaining plate which also increases the strength requirements for that part and the attachment thereof. A further disadvantage is that with a synthetic plastic handle the latter has to have moulder in a metal shank member which is riveted over or otherwise utilised in the attachment of the re taining plate.

According to the invention a door handle assembly includes a handle the shank of which is formed with an integral flange, and a body which is formed for fixing to the door and comprises an outer main body part and an inner back plate part, the flange being located between and by said parts and the main body part being formed in such a manner that during assembly the handle is fitted therein from the inner side of that part. As used herein the outer side of the body is that side which is remote from the door when fitted.

Preferably the handle flange is formed to limit rotation of the handle and it may have stop surfaces which engage fixed stops on either the main body part or the backplate part. The backplate part may be attached to the main body part in any suitable manner, but it is conveniently a press fit therein or thereon so that no riveting or like assembly operation is required. The main body and backplate parts, and the handle also, are conveniently moulded from a synthetic plastic material, and the backplate part may be moulded as a circular disc-like member with a castellated side wall providing tongues which are pressed into corresponding recesses moulded in the main body part. When such an arrangement is assembled it provides a box-like structure for the body of extremely high rigidity.

This invention is of particular application to an assembly embodying a lever-type handle. The integral flange is preferably formed adjacent the inner end of the handle shank at which the handle may take a bearing in the backplate; a bearing may also be taken in the main body part to provide an exceptionally rigid bearing arrangement with two spaced journal bearings on opposite sides of the flange and the latter acting as a two-Way thrust bearing.

The invention will now be further described with reference to the accompanying drawings which illustrate, by way of example, a handle assembly in accordance with the invention. In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is an outer side view of the assembly,

FIGURE 2 is a sectional view on the line IIH in FIGURE -1,

FIGURE 3 is a part-sectional view on the line III-411 in FIGURE 1, and

3,323,824 Patented June 6, 1967 FIGURE 4 is a part-sectional view on the line IV-IV in FIGURE 3.

The assembly comprises a lever-type handle 1 of generally conventional cranked shape to provide a curved lever arm 2 contoured to suit visual design considerations and a shank 3. The shank 3 is of generally frusto-conical shape increasing in diameter towards the free or inner end at which the end portion is rotatably mounted in a body 4 of the assembly.

The shank end portion has an inner flange section 5 adjoining a cylindrical bearing section providing a bearing surface 6; the flange section 5 has a radial inner end face 7, a cylindrical outer periphery 8 and a coned outer side face 9. The body 4 is of generally square form with holes such as 10 for fixing screws by which the assembly is mounted on a door in the usual manner, the body 4 comprising an outer main body part 11 which embraces and provides a bore :for the handle shank 3 and an inner backplate part 12 fitted into the body part 11.

The body part 11 has a central bearing bore 13 which engages the cylindrical bearing surface 6 on the shank and is counterbored to provide an annular recess 14 which mates with the flange section 5; engagement of the flange section 5 within the recess 14 in use prevents the handle 1 being pulled out of the body 4 and hence sustains the door pull. The through diameter of the aperture 13 in the main body part 11 is sufiicient to provide clearance for the lever arm 2 of the handle which is assembled through the main body part 11 from the inner side thereof.

The flange section 5 is cut away at 15 over two diametrically opposed portions of its periphery of equal arc, and into these cut-away portions two moulded stops 16 of the main body part 11 respectively project for engagement with the ends of the cut-away portions 15 to limit handle movement. A return spring 17 is fitted which urges the handle 1 to the normal resting position, by bearing at each end against a tongue portion of the backplate part 12 FIGURE 3, in which each stop 16 engages one end of the corresponding cut-away portion 15. A self-centring spring is shown in the drawings, and with this the stops may be arranged to rest at the centre of the cut-away portions 15 which are then extended as shown in broken lines at 18 so that the handle 1 can be turned in either direction.

The backplate part 12 is a press fit into the main body part 11 so that the assembly can be completed without any riveting or like assembly operation and without the use of special tools. The backplate part 12 is in the form of a circular disc with a castellated shallow side wall 19, the part 12 being housed within an inner side counterbore 20 in the main body part with the side wall sections 19 forming tongues which fit into moulded recesses such as 21 in the main body part 11. The handle 1 and the body parts 11, 12 are moulded from a synthetic plastic material such as high density polythene, and the described construction of the body 4 provides a boxlike construction of extremely high rigidity when the backplate part 12 is pressed into position.

The adjacent side surfaces of the flange 5 and backplate part 12 engage to locate the handle 1 within the body in one direction and to provide a thrust bearing, and the handle shank 3 has a short cylindrical end projection 22 which takes a bearing in a central bore 23 in the backplate part 12. Thus an extremely good bearing arrangement is obtained with the handle I mounted in spaced journal bearings at 13 and 23 in the main body part 11 and the backplate part 12 respectively, which is a considerable advantage as compared with previous handle assemblies in which the handle is fitted from the outer side of the body and has a single journal bearing in the body.

I claim:

1. A door handle assembly including a handle, a

of the handle, and a compression spring held in said flange groove which is closed by the adjacent one of said parts and operatively engaging the flange and said adjacent part.

2. An assembly according to claim 1, wherein the integral flange is formed adjacent the inner end of the shank of the handle adjoining an end bearing portion whichtakes a bearing in the backplate.

3. An assembly according to claim 2, wherein the handle shank also takes a bearing in the main body part to provide'two spaced journal bearings on opposite sides of the flange with the latter acting as a two-way thrust bearing. 7

4. A door handle assembly including'a handle, a shank of which is formed with an integral flange, and a body which is formed for fixing to the door and comprises an outer main body part and an inner backplate part, the flange being located'between and by said parts and the main body part formed in such manner that during assembly the handle is fitted therein from the inner side of that. part, the backplate part being a press fit with respect to'the main body part and in the form of a disclike member with a castellated side wall providing tongues which are pressed into corresponding recesses moulded in the main body part.

5. A door handle assembly including a lever type handle, the shank of which is formed with an integral flange formed with stop surfaces and an arcuate groove in an inner radial face of the flange, a body which is formed for fixing to the door and comprises an outer main'part and an inner backplate part, the main body part having fixed stops engaged by said stop surfaces to limit rotation of the handle which is fitted in the main body part from the inner side of that part during assembly, and a compression spring retained in said flange groove by said backplate part and operatively engaging the flange and the backplate part.

6. A door handle assembly including an integral lever type'handle the shank of which is formed with an integral flange, and a body which is formed for fixing to the door and comprises an outer main body part and an inner backplate .part, the flange being located between and by. said parts and the main body part formed in such manner that during assembly the handle is fitted therein from the inner side of that part, the backplate part being a press fit in the main body part and in the form of a disc-like member with a castellated side wall providing tongues which are pressed into corresponding recesses moulded in the main body part.

7. An assembly according to claim 6, wherein the main body part is moulded from a synthetic plastic material.

8. An assembly according to claim 7, wherein the backplate part also is moulded from a synthetic plastic material.

9. A door handle assembly including a rotatable handle formed with an integral flange, an inner face of the flange having an arcuate spring groove centreed on the rotational axis of the 'handle, a self-centreing compression handle return spring housed in said groove and engaging end walls of the groove when the handle is in a centreed resting position, a main body part formed for fixing to the door and in which the flange is housed, the main body part having an internal side projection forming a fixed stop and engageable with stop surfaces formed -in a peripheral cut-away portion of the flange to limit rotation of the handle, said inner face of the flange having a narrower arcuate groove concentric with said spring groove and spanning the gap between said end walls of the spring groove, and a backplate part fitted to the main body part to locate and retain the flange within the main body part and to retain the spring within the said spring groove, the backplate part having an inwardly projecting tongue extending toward said narrower groove and also spanning the gap between the ends of the spring in said resting position, so that on rotation of the handle the tongue engages and compresses said return spring against one of said end walls of the spring groove.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 112,354 3/1871 Keller et al. 292357 1,498,884 6/ 1924 Nicholson 292 357 1,597,613 8/1926 Nelson et al 292-356 X 1,653,512 12/1927 'Schlage.

2,080,656 5/1937 De Vries 292357 X 2,729,485 1/1956 Schlage 292356 X 3,014,748 12/1961 Welch 292-357 X FOREIGN PATENTS 1,148,909 5/ 1963 Germany.

956,085 3/1964 Great Britain.

MARVIN A. CHAMPION, Primary Examiner. R. E. Moore, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A DOOR HANDLE ASSEMBLY INCLUDING A HANDLE, A SHANK OF WHICH IS FORMED WITH AN INTEGRAL FLANGE WHICH IS FORMED WITH A STOP SURFACE AND A GROOVE IN ONE RADIAL FACE OF THE FLANGE, A BODY WHICH IS FORMED FOR FIXING TO THE DOOR AND COMPRISES AN OUTER MAIN BODY PART AND AN INNER BACKPLATE PART, ONE OF SAID PARTS HAVING A FIXED STOP ENGAGED BY SAID STOP SURFACE TO LIMIT ROTATION OF THE HANDLE, AND A COMPRESSION SPRING HELD IN SAID FLANGE GROOVE WHICH IS CLOSED BY THE ADJACENT ONE OF SAID PARTS AND OPERATIVELY ENGAGING THE FLANGE AND SAID ADJACENT PART. 